A microfluidics chip or lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a device that integrates one or several laboratory functions such as in the fields of chemistry, optics, biology and physics on a single chip of only millimeters to a few centimeters to achieve automation and high-throughput screening. Microfluidics technology enables handling and study of extremely small fluid volumes as little as a few pico liters. The technology may be utilized to construct a microscale chemical or biological lab on a chip with an integrated function of isolation, purification of nucleic acids and identification of target molecules from a biological sample.
A microfluidics chip device may be useful in miniaturizing diagnosis assays. For example, a microfluidics chip device may be used for screening biological samples in the fields without sophisticated equipment, or be used by a patient who is not in a clinic or hospital or lives in areas with limited healthcare resources. Microfluidics chip devices may also be utilized in large scale genomic screening projects or genetic testing centers because of the following advantages: low fluid volumes consumption, lower reagents costs, less required sample volumes for diagnostics, faster and simpler analysis and response times due to short diffusion distances, fast heating, better system control because of a faster response of the system, compactness of the systems due to integration of much functionality and small volumes, massive parallelization due to compactness, which allows high-throughput analysis and relatively lower fabrication costs and ability of mass production.